Subordination: Shadow's Revenge
by Crazed Maniac 02
Summary: Desperation sequel! While Rouge and Knuckles are as close as ever, Shadow is willing to do anything to get his love back, even if it means having control of the whole world. Read and review, everyone!


What's up old friends and new reviewers? Welcome to the Desperation sequel, I'm glad you could come. It's been a while back since I closed out that last chapter. I have definitely grown as a writer, and I'm sure everyone will see that in this sequel. Just want to inform everyone that this is strictly Knux/Rouge, and nothing more. To all that think I'm just some psycho writer who constantly does yaoi (for those who don't know what that means guy/guy action), you're wrong. I'm a crazy writer who writes whatever she wants! I have peeps that got my back, so no flames are gonna bring me down! So, here goes nothing!

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed Desperation and the recently deleted Mark of Love. This fic will have a mix of both fic styles.

Secondly, I don't own any Sonic characters, I'm just doing this for the fun and the fans!

This is dedicated to my best friends who always stay true. Shouting out Special, TT-X, Mel, Mase and Mikey for having my back. I love y'all!

I will finally start now. Sorry for the delay; I just wanted to get a few things out. Now to start! By the way, my italics are screwed up, but oh well...They really don't matter that much.

Subordination: Shadow's Revenge

Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

The floating island known as Angel Island was weightless as it rested peacefully in the beautiful sky, which was fading into night and left the firmament with a pattern of pastel colors dotted with early stars. The humidity was considerably higher since the Angel Emerald had taken over the Master Emerald's duty, but the cool winds cancelled it out temporarily. Knuckles stood in the grass as the wind played with his long dreadlocks. He was glad to call this calm and restful place home, and it was even better that he had Rouge as company. Since their encounter with Shadow, he knew Rouge wasn't going anywhere. He sighed with relaxation as he laid his violet eyes on the waterfall. He walked to the bank and sat before the water and immediately lay on his back and gazed at the sky.

"Wow, isn't this great?" he asked in a moderate tone. When he didn't hear a reply from Rouge, he grew suspicious and looked around him. He began to slightly worry since she was almost lost to him forever when she was out of his sight. The fear faded when he heard a small noise in the woods nearby. She always liked to keep him alert, so she always played these sorts of hide-and-seek games with him. He stood again and looked towards the forest and called out, "I'll find you this time!"

Rouge was caught off guard by his deep, booming voice from several feet behind her. She faced the disruption and started walking backwards, but forgot to pay attention to the stray branches in her path. When she felt and heard a tree branch crack under her boot, she knew that she had to get moving in order to keep herself hidden from Knuckles.

When he heard the snap of the limb, he knew exactly where she was. He played it cool and sauntered through the woods so he wouldn't scare her away. When he saw her several feet away, he hid behind the closest tree so he would be hidden from her. He followed the pattern of her eyes darting through the woods and crept from tree to tree when she wasn't looking his way. He continued this until he was only a few feet away from her presence. Rouge could feel him close by, so she broke into a run. He ran after her as fast as he could, confident that he would catch her at any given moment. After five minutes passed, he slowed to a stop and looked around in confusion. Before he figured out what he did wrong, he felt two hands pulling at his dreadlocks until he fell over on his side in defeat.

Rouge wrapped her loving arms around him from behind and smiled victoriously while squeezing him. "You're mine now," she declared to his squirming body.

"Oh, you hurt me good, baby." he commented while feeling her comforting warmth from behind. "You won this time, but you'll get yours next time."

"Yeah, I'll get mine alright," she teased, "once I'm done with you."

"Do you think you can have me that easily?" he asked suspiciously while turning to face her.

"Of course." she answered. She looked into his eyes and smiled. "Would you ever leave me lonely?"

"Never, love." he whispered.

"Hmm." she sighed as she reminisced. "I love you so much. You gave your life for me. I'm eternally yours."

He took her hand and smiled. "I'd do anything for you. I'll always be yours." Rouge captured his lips and locked him into a passionate kiss that made him weak. He gasped for air once she let go. When he could breathe, he spoke. "Care for a swim?" he asked out of the blue. Rouge gave him a puzzled look. "I want to show you something. Don't you trust me?"

"Always. I'm up for anything." she replied.

He smiled again. "Great. You'll love it, I promise." He stood and extended a hand to help her up, keeping a firm grip when he led her away from the woods and back to the heavenly waterfall. He stopped and faced her at the edge of the bank. "I've never shown this to anyone before. You must not tell a soul of what you are about to see." he informed her in a serious tone. She nodded and continued to listen to him. "Are you ready for this?"

"Yes." she replied while gripping his hand tightly.

"Don't let go of my hand unless I give you a sign." he ordered softly.

Rouge took a deep breath and took one last look at her surroundings before they hit the cold water. After the plunge, she blinked a few times and saw the colorful aquatic world before her. She used her feet and her free hand to swim until their feet reached the ocean floor. Knuckles then led her to a cavern with a huge boulder blocking its entrance. He motioned her to let go of his hand for a moment before he used his strong and powerful knuckles to break the rock. He led Rouge to the side of the cavern opening so the flying boulder pieces wouldn't hurt either of them. When the pieces settled to the bottom, they continued to enter the cavern.

They didn't have to swim as hard when they entered because of the water rushing in from the removal of the boulder. Once they reached the dead end of the dark cavern, he let go of her hand again and signaled for her to wait a moment. He looked to the roof of the cavern and jumped up with his knuckles over his head and began to dig into its center. Once he made a hole of a sufficient size, he motioned Rouge to swim up there. She obeyed and went through the hole first with Knuckles following her.

Rouge swam faster as soon as she saw that she was reaching the top of the water. When she had her head above water, she exhaled and took in a few breaths. It wasn't long before Knuckles emerged beside her. She looked around and saw a large rocky ledge. "Is this what you wanted to show me, a rock wall?" she asked jokingly.

"No, there's more. Climb up and you'll see. I'll be right behind you." She grabbed on and began to pull herself up on the rock. She could feel the water dripping from her body as she ascended the ledge with Knuckles close behind.

When she reached the top and pulled herself over the ledge, she gasped in awe as she stood. Hundreds of precious jewels in beautiful colors were encrusted in the opening's walls, creating the only light in the darkness. "Wow...." she said with admiration.

"You like it?" he asked with a smile.

"It's beautiful." she gasped in wonder. "Where did all these jewels come from?"

"No one knows. A long time ago, my ancestors tried to contemplate their power, but none of their methods worked. I discovered these before you came to visit me." he explained.

Rouge sat down and gazed at them some more. "They almost look like colorful stars in the sky."

Knuckles sat down beside her. "Yeah. Are you glad I took you up here?"

"Yes." she replied. She rested her head on his shoulder and put her arms around his shoulders. "This is so amazing. I love you."

"I love you, too." He gave her a soft and tender kiss when she finally fixed her eyes on him.

She giggled after she broke the kiss and her eyes went back to the beautiful gems. "I could stay here forever."

"I'm sure you could." he agreed. He adjusted himself so she could lie on her side in front of him and rested his left hand behind his head and his right arm around her waist.

Rouge continued to stare at the jewels for a moment, then turned and faced him. "This reminds me of a dream I had a few nights back."

Knuckles flashed her a sly look. "Do tell."

"Well, there were sparkles everywhere, and we were..." she trailed off when she realized how close they were at that moment.

"If you want to live your dream, just say the word." he suggested with a smile.

"I do...so bad..." she sighed. His lips touched hers again, and she knew that she was no longer in a dream....

---

Thunder crashed and lightning brightened the dark sky as Shadow continued to sprint through the desert. Rain covered his body from head to toe while his shoes slightly sunk into the sand with each movement. It was hard enough to see through the rain, but he didn't want to stop. He had to get to his destination soon. His foot hit a rock and he fell forward into the sand. He whispered curses while he rubbed the grains from his bloodshot eyes. He felt himself shedding a few tears because of the grit. He sighed and rose to his feet, ignoring the deep cut in his left leg. Shadow struggled to move as pain shot up his leg. More tears fell as a result and he sighed in frustration.

He noticed a twinkle from the corner of his eye when he finished grumbling. He looked around and saw nothing, but he heard a familiar voice in the distance.

"Shadow..." Her sweet voice echoed across the sky.

He calmed himself a little when he recognized her. "Maria..."

"Yes, it's me. What are you looking for, Shadow?"

"I'm looking for a way to claim my love for all eternity."

"How can you do that when you're hurt?"

"I'm fine. I can handle it."

"You can barely walk. Just close your eyes and I'll take you there."

"Maria, please. You don't have to—"

Her voice turned into ice. "I want to help you. Do as I say."

He groaned in defeat and obeyed her. Shadow saw a flash of lights and colors while he spun in eternal nothingness. Before he could react to any of it, it stopped, leaving him in a state of confusion. He opened his eyes and saw his destination. It was a sand-colored temple with an abundance of ancient markings on it. He slowly stepped towards one of the walls and saw an unfinished marking in a red substance. He raised an eyebrow when he realized it was blood. His eyes traced the heart and the name in an undetermined language. He recalled seeing the same marking somewhere, but he couldn't identify where he saw it previously. Shadow had an idea and took out his emerald of a dark amethyst color and clutched it tightly in his hand. He closed his eyes again and focused on the emerald's power. As he felt its strength burning through his whole body, he placed his free hand on the marking. He gasped when the emerald let him see the marking's meaning.

He fell hard on his side when the ground shook beneath him. He rolled himself a few times to escape the impact as the ground opened from where he once stood. A stairway began forming in the dark hole. He stood again and walked towards the once hidden path. He felt a slight pull from the emerald as if it were signaling him to go in.

Shadow descended the stairs slowly and used the emerald as his only light. It took him a while to reach the bottom. Now he was walking down a path made of pure sandstone. Soon, it transformed into a long maze full of deadly traps. Whenever he came across two different paths, he went with the emerald's pull to steer him in the right direction.

Soon enough, the maze ended and he now approached a small shrine. It was similar to the Master Emerald shrine, but it was smaller and it had a dark blue glow to it. His eyes concentrated on the slab of rock in the middle of the shrine. He saw many circular shapes etched deep inside the rock, which resembled the shapes of gems. He saw a large one in the middle that looked like it would fit his emerald. He felt slight worry when he was about to stick the emerald in its rightful place. He stopped when he felt Maria's presence around him again.

"Will this work?" he asked suspiciously.

"I can't tell you that, but it will all work out for the better."

"I wish you could say something that would actually help me." he complained.

"Shadow, I'm trying to help you. There's just some things that I know that I'm not supposed to tell you."

"Whatever." he scoffed.

Instead of giving up the emerald, he released some of its power into the rock. A gray smoke clouded his vision, but it didn't suffocate him at all. A strong wind enveloped him, but he didn't budge from his spot. He then began to hear a strange deep voice coming from the temple's walls.

"_You have summoned my destructive powers. I require your blood in return."_

"Do what he says." Maria assured him.

Shadow used the sharp end of the emerald to cut his forearm and blood sprinkled onto the rock. He winced a little from the sudden pain.

"_What do you ask of me?"_

"What are you capable of?" he asked.

"Anything you please. Revenge on another soul, riches beyond your wildest dreams, eternal love..." 

"What do you want in return?"

"_I want my emeralds back, then you can have whatever you wish."_

"Wait a minute. Why can't you get them yourself?"

"Fool! How dare you question me?" 

Shadow could then feel the smoke entering his windpipe, and he coughed and gasped for air. His vision went blurry as he felt his throat muscles getting tighter. After a few more agonizing seconds, the smoke left his lungs and he could breathe again.

"_I cannot travel without the aid of my emeralds. They need to be brought back here."_

"I will do whatever it takes to retrieve them then." Shadow promised in between gasps.

"_Good. I wish you luck on your journey."_

"This'll be too easy for me." he bragged.

"_Just one more thing. I will kill the person who took my emeralds. If you take that into your own hands, I will take your life."_

"As you wish."

"_You will call me master!!" _he bellowed.

"No one rules me!" Shadow screamed before he felt his windpipe closing again. This time, he began going into convulsions before he was allowed oxygen.

"You will do as I say!" 

After Shadow gained air again, he apologized. "I'm sorry. I will make sure your emeralds are back in their rightful place, master."

"_Excellent. You have 14 days. Do not disappoint me."_

"I will do my best, master. I will use this emerald with the greatest of my abilities."

"_I will give you some of my powers, just in case someone of a greater power gets in your way."_

"Believe me, no one will get into my way." Shadow declared with icy venom. "But I appreciate it, master."

"Good luck on your journey..." 

Shadow began to go back the way he came, but he turned back and got one more look at his future. He raced through the maze with no problem while he thought of his long-awaited revenge. Nothing was stopping him this time.

---

Ah, I've forgotten how great it feels to start something new. Please review and tell me what you think! I know this site is having problems lately, so I'll be waiting patiently. Peace out!


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